Apple flies in the MacBook Air
The oh-so-slim Macbook Air
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET Networks)
With Macworld kicking off today, that tangled web of rumor, innuendo, and outright fabrication known as the Internet has been abuzz with all kinds of supposedly inside top-secret documentation, downloaded directly from Steve Jobs' frontal lobe.
Naturally, we didn't believe a word of any of the oh-so-fake "leaked" Steve Jobs keynote addresses and product spec sheets, but one area where most of the speculators were at least partially right was in Apple's latest laptop, the MacBook Air.
As was heavily predicted, the new laptop is not quite an ultraportable, but still very small. Mimicking the 13-inch silhouette of the current MacBook line, it's .76-inch thick at its thickest part. Apple calls it the "world's thinnest notebook."
The MacBook Air includes the usual iSight camera, plus what looks like a fairly standard Mac-like keyboard, an LED backlit display, an ambient light sensor, and a big touchpad that works with multitouch gestures, such as rotating a photo by twisting your fingers on the touchpad.
As for what's inside this slim laptop, we're looking at a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, custom-made by Intel to fit into the slim chassis, 2GB of RAM, and a choice of either an 80GB standard 1.8-inch hard drive or a 64GB SSD drive (which really should be standard for something so forward-looking). Bluetooth and 802.11n were expected, but the lack of an optical drive is a surprise--it's a smart space- and power-saving move we expect to see in more ultraportable laptops. External drives will work, and the Air can connect wirelessly to an optical drive in another nearby computer.
The MacBook Air is available for preorder now, and it ships in two weeks, starting at $1,799.
The hype was already huge preshow, so it's hard to say if anything could really live up to it, but this seems, at first glance, like a solid addition to the MacBook lineup. We'll have to keep waiting for a true ultraportable, something missing from the Apple lineup for several years.
Our own Michelle Thatcher is live on-site at Macworld, and will be bringing us her in-person take on the new Apple laptop very soon, so stay tuned for that.
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
On your issue of ultraportables: I used to think that way. If your only computer is a laptop then I think this is not the correct buy. I am buying a laptop for ease of portability. Believe it or not there is a vast difference in carrying a 3 lb. vs. 5-6 lb. if you have to do so on a consistent basis. The size difference also makes it easier to fit into bags. I have 2 very powerful desktops (work and home) and am not worried about those sacrificed items mentioned. It certainly is not for everyone but there is definitely a market for it.
On your issue of ultraportables: I used to think that way. If your only computer is a laptop then I think this is not the correct buy. I am buying a laptop for ease of portability. Believe it or not there is a vast difference in carrying a 3 lb. vs. 5-6 lb. if you have to do so on a consistent basis. The size difference also makes it easier to fit into bags. I have 2 very powerful desktops (work and home) and am not worried about those sacrificed items mentioned. It certainly is not for everyone but there is definitely a market for it.
On your issue of ultraportables: I used to think that way. If your only computer is a laptop then I think this is not the correct buy. I am buying a laptop for ease of portability. Believe it or not there is a vast difference in carrying a 3 lb. vs. 5-6 lb. if you have to do so on a consistent basis. The size difference also makes it easier to fit into bags. I have 2 very powerful desktops (work and home) and am not worried about those sacrificed items mentioned. It certainly is not for everyone but there is definitely a market for it.
I believe that Apple has really let us down on this.
I believe that Apple has really let us down on this.
I believe that Apple has really let us down on this.
I wonder if this one will cool down properly since it's so thin and that was one excuse for mine not cooling down (because the processor runs hot and the notebook is so thin)? I hope they have resolved this problem or that, if it is not resolved, they do it with the second generation.
Regardless, it's a great design and I look forward to reading cnet's ongoing articles about it to find out!
I wonder if this one will cool down properly since it's so thin and that was one excuse for mine not cooling down (because the processor runs hot and the notebook is so thin)? I hope they have resolved this problem or that, if it is not resolved, they do it with the second generation.
Regardless, it's a great design and I look forward to reading cnet's ongoing articles about it to find out!
I wonder if this one will cool down properly since it's so thin and that was one excuse for mine not cooling down (because the processor runs hot and the notebook is so thin)? I hope they have resolved this problem or that, if it is not resolved, they do it with the second generation.
Regardless, it's a great design and I look forward to reading cnet's ongoing articles about it to find out!
The real innovations follow:
1. There is an option for a solid state hard drive. Simply put, this is a high capacity "USB Flash Memory" (so the average reader understands) built in, instead of a traditional hard drive. This means that booting the computer, access to files and loading of programs will be a LOT much faster. People will have to try this to understand it. It also makes the drive more reliable and durable. The only downfall for the time being is that the Solid State Hard Drive offered is limited to 64 GB; but to me that is not so important these days when you can share hard drives through a wireless network. By the way, the new wireless access points have USB ports that allow you to connect printers or USB hard drives and share them on your network.
2. The screen is a LED backlit display, instead of a electroluminescent back panel that notebooks currently carry. LED light is the most efficient, reliable and durable. Compare it to the new LED flash lights that you can buy and power with wrist watch batteries. These flashlights are brighter and last longer than traditional flashlights that use higher capacity alkaline AA or AAA batteries.
3. It gets rid of all the hardware that most users barely use and proposes an alternative. You don't have to live without an optical drive, you'll simply access it differently. Using either an external drive or accessing one from another computer. You don't have to live with 1 USB port, you'll have as many as you like, but differently (use a USB hub). You don't have to live with a single video out port, again all these ports are there, but differently (through adapters).
4. The above innovations by saving power traduce themselves into a smaller, lighter and therefore cheaper battery that actually will last longer!
5. It comes with a bigger multipoint touchpad, who's technology was introduced to consumers with the iphone. This makes it easier to interact with the computer.
6. All these innovations come in a very thin and lightweight notebook. There is never enough in this area and therefore its always better to have a thiner and lighter notebook, specially if you don't sacrifice the 2 things you use the most: the screen and the keyboard.
7. Software improvements and accessories that allow you take full advantage of todays wireless connectivity. These improvements compensate for the lack of optical drive and some of the ports eliminated.
I've been wanting a notebook like this for a while. The only thing not included in this notebook that I wish was available is a battery that you could swap with a power adapter so you have the option to leave the battery and incorporate the power adapter to the notebook. This way you don't have to carry the power adapter separately on those occasions when a battery simply is not necessary.
Don't forget you still have a bunch of other features already included in previous Macbooks like the backlit keyboard, magsafe power adapter, built in isight camera, 802.11N wireless card, bluetooth, etc... I'm excluding the comparison between MACs and PCs and limiting this post to the innovations made in this piece of hardware. There is plenty of information regarding Pros and Cons of MACs vrs PCs.
I give Apple A+ for being pioneers and standing up above all the other players in this industry. This allowed me to make one of the hardest decisions in my business, to migrate from a PC to a MAC.
Regards,
Luis Bueso
you keep forgetting that any company can make an overly priced, unusable piece of hardware and call it innovative, but it doesn't make it useful or helpful for most users.
i'll respond to most of your points
1) SSD is not an apple innovation. SSD existed long before today,however this is an example of apple stupidity, as it only offers 60GB of memory for an extra 999$ upgrade. and you get a rate of 16$ a Gig,which is a lot pricier than other hard drive solutions. Again, other companies don't use ssd because of the price and the small hard drive size. The other 1.8" 80gb Harddrive spins at a much lower rate than other high-end laptops(this does cost 1800 after all, unless in apple standards this is "cheap" i could be wrong), sacrificing speed and performance.
2) i would concede this point, but again let's talk about cost. if this type of display cost 200-300 extra, i don't see how it is worth the price
3) louis, a computer without a an optical disk, is like a car without a trunk. you can live without it, but it makes life a lot harder. now imagine you spend twice the price of a normal car, and u see why people are frustrated. and imagine something goes wrong with your OS, or you need to upgrade, you can forget about booting from a disc, since there isn't one. Forget about ripping your dvd's and cd's, forget about backuping to a dvd, forget about burning to a movie on a dvd and giving it to someone. Forget about listening to those music cd's or dvd's that you bought, now you have to pay apple for all the stuff you already paid for. the list just goes on and on. And you can check the effect yourself. Disconnect your optical drive from your computer and see how long you can last...get my point?
3b) about the usb port...you are paying 1800 and apple can't even put 2 more usb ports? are they crazy? are you crazy? how much more do u need to pay to realize you are being ripped off!!!? ONE USB PORT? ONE? this just makes me mad. want to connect an external hard drive (a must have, how many ppl can live with 80GB?, even the ipod video comes in a 160GB option!) and a mouse? or an OPTICAL DRIVE? no not possible.
must get a hub and share the speed over many attachments. no longer can you attach a mouse...the usb will be reserved for the hard drive
4) maybe it increases the battery life, but eventually after a year of use, your battery will drain, lucky for you YOU CAN'T REPLACE THE BATTERY. you are paying 1,800 and you can't even replace the battery, is apple living in a dream world? I understand apple doesn't want people upgrading or changing any hardware components, so they can get more money from their loyal fans, but not being able to replace the battery? is there anything apple allows us to do with this overpriced junk?
5 i concede
6) well you forgot the main thing that you are sacrificing...
hard drive size, optical drive, ethernet, price, etc.
at some point apple should realize ppl would gadly add an extra inch and an extra pound for twice the capability and half the price, at least i'm willing to do so
7) maybe apple forgot something but last time i checked wires never fail, but routers do, and very often. Next time your network goes down, your macbook air becomes a very light paperweight.
I would not call this innovation, i would call it laughing at their customers. offering something that cost more than most windows based laptops out there, while delivering the performance of a 500$ used laptop from last year is not innovative it is just stupid.
The real innovations follow:
1. There is an option for a solid state hard drive. Simply put, this is a high capacity "USB Flash Memory" (so the average reader understands) built in, instead of a traditional hard drive. This means that booting the computer, access to files and loading of programs will be a LOT much faster. People will have to try this to understand it. It also makes the drive more reliable and durable. The only downfall for the time being is that the Solid State Hard Drive offered is limited to 64 GB; but to me that is not so important these days when you can share hard drives through a wireless network. By the way, the new wireless access points have USB ports that allow you to connect printers or USB hard drives and share them on your network.
2. The screen is a LED backlit display, instead of a electroluminescent back panel that notebooks currently carry. LED light is the most efficient, reliable and durable. Compare it to the new LED flash lights that you can buy and power with wrist watch batteries. These flashlights are brighter and last longer than traditional flashlights that use higher capacity alkaline AA or AAA batteries.
3. It gets rid of all the hardware that most users barely use and proposes an alternative. You don't have to live without an optical drive, you'll simply access it differently. Using either an external drive or accessing one from another computer. You don't have to live with 1 USB port, you'll have as many as you like, but differently (use a USB hub). You don't have to live with a single video out port, again all these ports are there, but differently (through adapters).
4. The above innovations by saving power traduce themselves into a smaller, lighter and therefore cheaper battery that actually will last longer!
5. It comes with a bigger multipoint touchpad, who's technology was introduced to consumers with the iphone. This makes it easier to interact with the computer.
6. All these innovations come in a very thin and lightweight notebook. There is never enough in this area and therefore its always better to have a thiner and lighter notebook, specially if you don't sacrifice the 2 things you use the most: the screen and the keyboard.
7. Software improvements and accessories that allow you take full advantage of todays wireless connectivity. These improvements compensate for the lack of optical drive and some of the ports eliminated.
I've been wanting a notebook like this for a while. The only thing not included in this notebook that I wish was available is a battery that you could swap with a power adapter so you have the option to leave the battery and incorporate the power adapter to the notebook. This way you don't have to carry the power adapter separately on those occasions when a battery simply is not necessary.
Don't forget you still have a bunch of other features already included in previous Macbooks like the backlit keyboard, magsafe power adapter, built in isight camera, 802.11N wireless card, bluetooth, etc... I'm excluding the comparison between MACs and PCs and limiting this post to the innovations made in this piece of hardware. There is plenty of information regarding Pros and Cons of MACs vrs PCs.
I give Apple A+ for being pioneers and standing up above all the other players in this industry. This allowed me to make one of the hardest decisions in my business, to migrate from a PC to a MAC.
Regards,
Luis Bueso
you keep forgetting that any company can make an overly priced, unusable piece of hardware and call it innovative, but it doesn't make it useful or helpful for most users.
i'll respond to most of your points
1) SSD is not an apple innovation. SSD existed long before today,however this is an example of apple stupidity, as it only offers 60GB of memory for an extra 999$ upgrade. and you get a rate of 16$ a Gig,which is a lot pricier than other hard drive solutions. Again, other companies don't use ssd because of the price and the small hard drive size. The other 1.8" 80gb Harddrive spins at a much lower rate than other high-end laptops(this does cost 1800 after all, unless in apple standards this is "cheap" i could be wrong), sacrificing speed and performance.
2) i would concede this point, but again let's talk about cost. if this type of display cost 200-300 extra, i don't see how it is worth the price
3) louis, a computer without a an optical disk, is like a car without a trunk. you can live without it, but it makes life a lot harder. now imagine you spend twice the price of a normal car, and u see why people are frustrated. and imagine something goes wrong with your OS, or you need to upgrade, you can forget about booting from a disc, since there isn't one. Forget about ripping your dvd's and cd's, forget about backuping to a dvd, forget about burning to a movie on a dvd and giving it to someone. Forget about listening to those music cd's or dvd's that you bought, now you have to pay apple for all the stuff you already paid for. the list just goes on and on. And you can check the effect yourself. Disconnect your optical drive from your computer and see how long you can last...get my point?
3b) about the usb port...you are paying 1800 and apple can't even put 2 more usb ports? are they crazy? are you crazy? how much more do u need to pay to realize you are being ripped off!!!? ONE USB PORT? ONE? this just makes me mad. want to connect an external hard drive (a must have, how many ppl can live with 80GB?, even the ipod video comes in a 160GB option!) and a mouse? or an OPTICAL DRIVE? no not possible.
must get a hub and share the speed over many attachments. no longer can you attach a mouse...the usb will be reserved for the hard drive
4) maybe it increases the battery life, but eventually after a year of use, your battery will drain, lucky for you YOU CAN'T REPLACE THE BATTERY. you are paying 1,800 and you can't even replace the battery, is apple living in a dream world? I understand apple doesn't want people upgrading or changing any hardware components, so they can get more money from their loyal fans, but not being able to replace the battery? is there anything apple allows us to do with this overpriced junk?
5 i concede
6) well you forgot the main thing that you are sacrificing...
hard drive size, optical drive, ethernet, price, etc.
at some point apple should realize ppl would gadly add an extra inch and an extra pound for twice the capability and half the price, at least i'm willing to do so
7) maybe apple forgot something but last time i checked wires never fail, but routers do, and very often. Next time your network goes down, your macbook air becomes a very light paperweight.
I would not call this innovation, i would call it laughing at their customers. offering something that cost more than most windows based laptops out there, while delivering the performance of a 500$ used laptop from last year is not innovative it is just stupid.
The real innovations follow:
1. There is an option for a solid state hard drive. Simply put, this is a high capacity "USB Flash Memory" (so the average reader understands) built in, instead of a traditional hard drive. This means that booting the computer, access to files and loading of programs will be a LOT much faster. People will have to try this to understand it. It also makes the drive more reliable and durable. The only downfall for the time being is that the Solid State Hard Drive offered is limited to 64 GB; but to me that is not so important these days when you can share hard drives through a wireless network. By the way, the new wireless access points have USB ports that allow you to connect printers or USB hard drives and share them on your network.
2. The screen is a LED backlit display, instead of a electroluminescent back panel that notebooks currently carry. LED light is the most efficient, reliable and durable. Compare it to the new LED flash lights that you can buy and power with wrist watch batteries. These flashlights are brighter and last longer than traditional flashlights that use higher capacity alkaline AA or AAA batteries.
3. It gets rid of all the hardware that most users barely use and proposes an alternative. You don't have to live without an optical drive, you'll simply access it differently. Using either an external drive or accessing one from another computer. You don't have to live with 1 USB port, you'll have as many as you like, but differently (use a USB hub). You don't have to live with a single video out port, again all these ports are there, but differently (through adapters).
4. The above innovations by saving power traduce themselves into a smaller, lighter and therefore cheaper battery that actually will last longer!
5. It comes with a bigger multipoint touchpad, who's technology was introduced to consumers with the iphone. This makes it easier to interact with the computer.
6. All these innovations come in a very thin and lightweight notebook. There is never enough in this area and therefore its always better to have a thiner and lighter notebook, specially if you don't sacrifice the 2 things you use the most: the screen and the keyboard.
7. Software improvements and accessories that allow you take full advantage of todays wireless connectivity. These improvements compensate for the lack of optical drive and some of the ports eliminated.
I've been wanting a notebook like this for a while. The only thing not included in this notebook that I wish was available is a battery that you could swap with a power adapter so you have the option to leave the battery and incorporate the power adapter to the notebook. This way you don't have to carry the power adapter separately on those occasions when a battery simply is not necessary.
Don't forget you still have a bunch of other features already included in previous Macbooks like the backlit keyboard, magsafe power adapter, built in isight camera, 802.11N wireless card, bluetooth, etc... I'm excluding the comparison between MACs and PCs and limiting this post to the innovations made in this piece of hardware. There is plenty of information regarding Pros and Cons of MACs vrs PCs.
I give Apple A+ for being pioneers and standing up above all the other players in this industry. This allowed me to make one of the hardest decisions in my business, to migrate from a PC to a MAC.
Regards,
Luis Bueso
you keep forgetting that any company can make an overly priced, unusable piece of hardware and call it innovative, but it doesn't make it useful or helpful for most users.
i'll respond to most of your points
1) SSD is not an apple innovation. SSD existed long before today,however this is an example of apple stupidity, as it only offers 60GB of memory for an extra 999$ upgrade. and you get a rate of 16$ a Gig,which is a lot pricier than other hard drive solutions. Again, other companies don't use ssd because of the price and the small hard drive size. The other 1.8" 80gb Harddrive spins at a much lower rate than other high-end laptops(this does cost 1800 after all, unless in apple standards this is "cheap" i could be wrong), sacrificing speed and performance.
2) i would concede this point, but again let's talk about cost. if this type of display cost 200-300 extra, i don't see how it is worth the price
3) louis, a computer without a an optical disk, is like a car without a trunk. you can live without it, but it makes life a lot harder. now imagine you spend twice the price of a normal car, and u see why people are frustrated. and imagine something goes wrong with your OS, or you need to upgrade, you can forget about booting from a disc, since there isn't one. Forget about ripping your dvd's and cd's, forget about backuping to a dvd, forget about burning to a movie on a dvd and giving it to someone. Forget about listening to those music cd's or dvd's that you bought, now you have to pay apple for all the stuff you already paid for. the list just goes on and on. And you can check the effect yourself. Disconnect your optical drive from your computer and see how long you can last...get my point?
3b) about the usb port...you are paying 1800 and apple can't even put 2 more usb ports? are they crazy? are you crazy? how much more do u need to pay to realize you are being ripped off!!!? ONE USB PORT? ONE? this just makes me mad. want to connect an external hard drive (a must have, how many ppl can live with 80GB?, even the ipod video comes in a 160GB option!) and a mouse? or an OPTICAL DRIVE? no not possible.
must get a hub and share the speed over many attachments. no longer can you attach a mouse...the usb will be reserved for the hard drive
4) maybe it increases the battery life, but eventually after a year of use, your battery will drain, lucky for you YOU CAN'T REPLACE THE BATTERY. you are paying 1,800 and you can't even replace the battery, is apple living in a dream world? I understand apple doesn't want people upgrading or changing any hardware components, so they can get more money from their loyal fans, but not being able to replace the battery? is there anything apple allows us to do with this overpriced junk?
5 i concede
6) well you forgot the main thing that you are sacrificing...
hard drive size, optical drive, ethernet, price, etc.
at some point apple should realize ppl would gadly add an extra inch and an extra pound for twice the capability and half the price, at least i'm willing to do so
7) maybe apple forgot something but last time i checked wires never fail, but routers do, and very often. Next time your network goes down, your macbook air becomes a very light paperweight.
I would not call this innovation, i would call it laughing at their customers. offering something that cost more than most windows based laptops out there, while delivering the performance of a 500$ used laptop from last year is not innovative it is just stupid.
ipod battery even if your battery life is degraded by 50% plus apple will not
replace the battery under any circumstances. At least with the macbook and
macbook pro you can just buy another battery, with this one you're stuck.
- Performance? You gotta be kidding me...
- by allanc123 January 15, 2008 6:03 PM PST
- I want one, it has that sexy Apple engineered look. What I don't understand is those "desktop replacement" behemoth notebooks. I don't need an optical drive and if I can save three pounds off my shoulder, why wouldn't I? I doubt Jobs would release it if the performance was noticeably different between it and a top of the line Pro -for the apps most of use on our laptops.
- Reply to this comment
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- I would wait a while
- by m0kume January 15, 2008 9:09 PM PST
- From what I read the battery is not user swappable and if it's anything like the
-
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (39 Comments)ipod battery even if your battery life is degraded by 50% plus apple will not
replace the battery under any circumstances. At least with the macbook and
macbook pro you can just buy another battery, with this one you're stuck.